It can be hazardous in certain environments for an electrical circuit or system to produce a spark or other thermal effect. For example, a spark or thermal effect produced in an atmosphere of explosive gas could cause an explosion that could cause personal harm and damage to property.
Various regulations exist (e.g., International Electrotechnical Commission regulations, ATEX directives, etc.) that provide specifications under which “safe circuits” may be designed. These safe circuits are designed to ensure that any sparks or other thermal effects produced by the circuit in the conditions specified within the standards, which include normal operation and specified fault conditions, are not capable of causing ignition of a given gas atmosphere.
The above specifications further require that an intrinsically safe barrier or enclosure be provided to house the safe circuit. The enclosure is designed to withstand the maximum anticipated force of an explosion occurring within the enclosure. One example prior art intrinsically safe barrier is disclosed by U.S. Pat. No. 7,057,577, which is assigned on its face to Ventek LLC.
Applicant has identified a number of deficiencies and problems associated with the design, manufacture, use, and maintenance of conventional safe circuits and intrinsically safe barriers. Through applied effort, ingenuity, and innovation, Applicant has solved many of these identified problems by developing a solution that is embodied by the present invention, which is described in detail below.